I loved seeing those pounds disappear every day, but finding our for myself that hCG does stabilize and re-establish your body's set weight point, has been amazing! The next few weeks are equally as important as the low calorie diet was, to reaching your weight loss goals. You did the hard part, so make sure that you don't lose the ground you've gained during the next 6, 8 or 12 weeks. (Depending on what round you are on.)

Stabilization

For the first 3 weeks following the 500 Calorie Diet, you must not have sugar or starch. Some take this to the extreme and consider natural sugars in things such as tomatoes and other whole foods, to be a violation of this rule. I do not believe that is what Dr. Simeons intended. I added in other vegetables, fruits and nuts (cashews, almonds and macadamias) and also more fatty meats back into my diet during stabilization. Stay away from rice, potatoes, and obviously anything made with starches, such as flour, or other grains. You can have oils and dressings, avocados, eggs and many other things you could not during the 500 calorie diet. Just watch for added sugars, just as you did on the low calorie diet. Some feel that you must reach a certain number of calories at this point, but I just ate when I was hungry and not more. You must weigh every morning, after using the bathroom. Do not worry about small increases or losses of less than 2 pounds up or down from your last injection weight. But, if you see a larger increase than 2 pounds, you must immediately have a "steak day". This means that you skip breakfast and lunch, while drinking plenty of liquids. Then for dinner, you have the biggest steak you can eat with just an apple or tomato. You will likely see several pounds drop after a steak day! Immediately correcting these fluctuations will help your body to stabilize at your new weight.

Maintenance

The next 3 weeks you can begin to slowly add starches and sugars back into your diet. Do this with caution. You might want to start with a low carb wrap for a sandwich, or whole grains in moderation. Don't go crazy with sweets, or you will just crave them more. I enjoyed adding some foods I missed, but I noticed that all of a sudden, once I added in starches and sugars, I began to crave them. It's to a much smaller degree than I did before, but this is why I caution you to have them in moderation. During my first week of maintenance, I had onion rings, a milk shake, a hamburger, and a couple cookies. (not on the same day) I allowed myself to add starches or sugars in, for one meal a day. I stayed within 1 1/2 pounds for the last 3 weeks!

Additional Courses

Many of us (myself included) have more weight to lose, than just one round will allow. If you follow the protocol, you can lose as much weight as you need to! You must take the full 6 weeks to stabilize and maintain between rounds 1 and 2. If you do a 3rd round, you must take 8 weeks to stabilize and maintain between rounds 2 and 3. The next stabilization/maintenance should be 12 weeks and so on. This is important because it is another step to avoid becoming immune to the benefits of hCG.

***Disclaimer*** hCG is commonly used in the US to treat some conditions, however, it has not been approved by the FDA for the treatment of weight loss. I am not a physician and no statements or imformation on this site, should be used to diagnose or treat any medical condition.